Article
Dietary Restrictions Could Prevent Colon Cancer
The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that while the complete absence of meat in the diet had the most impact on reducing the risk of colorectal cancer, those who added seafood to the vegetarian diet-pescovegetarians-faired better than the nonvegetarians.
A vegetarian diet, especially one that includes fish, significantly reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, a large new study reports.
Researchers recruited 77,659 men and women from Seventh-day Adventist churches nationwide. All filled out well-validated questionnaires that included more than 200 food items.
Meat intake in the population was very low—an average of about 2 ounces a day. During an average of 7 years of follow-up, the scientists found 490 cases of colorectal cancer. Over all, after adjusting for many health and behavioral variables, vegetarians had a 21% reduced risk of cancer compared with nonvegetarians. The results are in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Read the report in The New York Times:
Newsletter
Stay ahead of policy, cost, and value—subscribe to AJMC for expert insights at the intersection of clinical care and health economics.
